Tuesday, May 9, 2017

The Trifecta... A Puppy Post! UPDATED

Yes...
We always adopt in multiples!
Except this time it wasn't from China!

We may have gone a bit overboard?
BUT,
we couldn't help ourselves!

Teddy came home first!

EDITED
Just a quick recap-
We lost our Mimi(darker golden retriever) in the end of August...
probably due to old age but we suspect cancer, too.
We were so so sad to lose her...
She was our older children's dog...
They grieved deeply for her...

When we got home from China on the 21st of December
we could see that our Sissy was noticeably thinner.
In early January we took her into the vet
and found out she was filled with cancer...
We were moving to Colorado in less than 2 weeks and
we did everything we could to be able to bring her
but she was too weak and too sick...
We were sad beyond belief...
Never pictured moving to CO without our Sissy...

So just Daisy and the cats came with us to Colorado.
After being in Colorado for 2 weeks Daisy had a medical emergency.
We quickly took her to the ER VET.
She died on the operating table of a twisted intestines.
Being a nurse, I suggested the do a resection
but over 85% of her intestines were black
and it was too late to save her...

We were devastated...
The children at home and the parents were in shock
over losing our sweet puppy....
She had been professionally trained and
although tiny for a Golden (38 lbs)
she was an amazing dog!

So we did this...
(see below!)

(Sadly we just lost one of our 4 cats. His body produced stones in his bladder. The stones blocked the neck of the bladder and he went into shock. They cleared one stone and then the ultrasound showed over 20 more stones. He blocked again before even leaving the emergency vet hospital.)

She joined us on February 17th!

Yes...

it was LOVE at first sight!

She is a golden retriever

but a darker color!

She was tiny,

only 7.5 lbs when we met her.

She was a bit frail and

very tired...

I'm sure our family was a little

overwhelming

for her!

Johnny just happened to be here

to enjoy the moment!

But it didn't stop there!

We went to look at a few other puppies

on the following weekend!

And said "YES"

to this adorable little girl!

She wasn't quite ready to bring home yet.

So while we waited we showered

Teddy

with love and attention!

And babied her in

every way possible!

Katie and her family were also visiting

so they were able to enjoy our new addition, too!

No Sarah does not need a wheelchair...

She was playing with Grace's wheelchair.

It was a fun toy while we had it but

still glad to see it gone!

Teddy got a ride throughout the house!

One way or another!

Did you know you can study your spelling words

while cuddling a puppy!

BEST therapy in the world!

Baby Ali wanted to share her bottle

with Teddy (Theodora).

And Teddy thought it was a GREAT idea!

Getting a puppy after losing our other three dogs

was so healing for everyone!

And especially for Mia!

Cuteness overload!

And then it was time to bring her sister home!

This time, we decided to bring everyone!

Once home...

we discovered that Teddy wasn't so fond of her new sister...

She growled...

she ignored...

she sniffed a bit...

And then at night I held her while she cried...

I knew what she was saying...

"I don't like her..."

"There's still time to return her..."

"I liked being an only puppy..."

"Why do we need another one?"

I actually have the funniest video of her crying and moaning,

while on my lap in the evening!

Thank goodness she decided to make

lemonade out of lemons!

Soon, they were snuggled up together
and getting along
just fine!

The children LOVE having our sweet doggies!

We named our English Cream Golden Retriever
"Quincy"!

Teddy wants to walk Quincy!

Happy pups!

At the vet and looking soooo cute!

These two pups are 2 weeks apart in age
and they are both girls!

Yep...
I'm adorable!

Can we go home now?

We are soooo thankful to have these two puppies!

They play

and play...
all day!

And they tire each other out!

The cuteness never stops!

They were very happy together!

And then we did it again!

And we added another sister to the mix!

At first they weren't so sure about her...
But then, they quickly accepted her into the pack!

She's two weeks younger than Quincy!
The fighting over Mr. Quackington!

Her name is Sunny!

Ava is a doggy whisperer!

Melissa is excellent with doggies, too!

They have our hearts!

Sunny has been a wonderful addition!

They all want the same toy!

Nothing like a pile of puppies!

They are growing up so fast!

Already, Quincy looks so much older compared to Sunny!

Teddy is getting taller and more slim.
She is getting her grown up fur!

Alpha is me...
But Quincy and Teddy
aren't so sure who comes in second place!

Why are you watching me?
You must know what I am up to...!

Yep!
I got it!

Until she got it back!

The little sister had to have a turn, too!
We have three hooves in the kennel but
they all wanted what their sisters had!

Teddy is waiting to make her move, again!

Now they are all going to walk each other!

A "play bow" by Quincy!

As they got a couple weeks older it began to get a bit
out of control...
So we have a trainer coming once a week!

She train us,
so we can train them!

Thank you Pavlov Dog Training!
Thank you Shannon!

We are seeing excellent results!

Sorry... I posted soooo
many pics!
Just wanted you to get a chance
to see what we get to see
EVERYDAY!

Dog training has become part of
our homeschool curriculum for some of the kids!

Good girl!

There's a whole lotta love here!

Four pics of Sarah with the puppies?
I could decide which ones to keep and which ones to take out!

They love hopping in their water dish on a warm spring day!

Thankful they are all getting along!

And now Quincy is getting some of her "grown up fur", too!

Thankful for our puppies!
We could watch them play
and cuddle them for hours and hours!

My goodness, what fun! We just got our first two dogs ever and we're loving it. Learning to handle them is part of our homeschool curriculum, too.

I'm sorry to hear that you've lost so many pets in such a short span of time. After I lost several cats to oral cancer, I did some serious research and learned so much. Here is something you may want to know for the sake of your other cats:

"The cause of struvite crystals in cats is dry commercial pet foods. Due to the lack of moisture in the diet, the urine becomes too concentrated, and due to the use of plant-based ingredients in dry kibble, the urine becomes too alkaline. An alkaline environment in very concentrated urine predisposes struvite formation."

Currently, on Netflix, is a documentary called Pet Fooled. I HIGHLY recommend it. I've been feeding my cats a raw diet for 12 years and haven't lost any of them, even my special need cats who I never imagined would live as long as he has is still healthy and my oldest cat is now 17. I'm surprised by her longevity, too, given she had a very rough start. All but one of my 9 cats were bottle-feeder rescues and my 9th cat was a mostly feral kitten I rescued last fall during her very first heat.

I feed my cats according to the recipe at catnutrition.org

I've also been feeding my dogs a BARF diet and their fur has gotten softer and my little dog doesn't have horrible gas any more. I'm still fiddling with the best recipe, but I'm just about there.

I'm going to enjoy reading about your puppies growing up. They certainly are the cutest puppies I've ever seen! I have puppy envy. I decided to get 1-2 yr. old dogs to start us with our first dogs because I wasn't sure about puppy training, but you make it look so easy and I love your kennel.

About Me

Jim and I have been married for 33 plus years. He is the love of my life and my best friend! We have 5 older birth children and we are adding to our family through the blessings of adoption. We love the Lord Jesus and it is our mission to serve him. We have stumbled along the way but he continues to pick us up and send us on the journey he has planned for us. We are very thankful for that!

Email me!

I love to hear from bloggy readers! However, due to adopting so many treasures and homeschooling them it is challenging for me to find the time to email back. I will try but I can't guarantee I will be able to get back to you. This season will pass and in the future I look forward to being able to answer back! Thank you for your understanding!

jean.mulvahill@gmail.com

Friends to Share With!

Matt and Caitlin

Matt (32 yrs old) and Caitlin were married on June 28th, 2014! They live and work in Denver, CO. Matt is working as a biostatistician for Denver Childrens Hospital. Caitlin is a special needs preschool teacher at one of the school districts in Denver. They have a precious little girl named Elodie!

Katie, Andrew, and Emily

Katie (30 yrs) and Andrew were married on July 6th, 2012! They live in Alexandria, Virginia. They have two daughters, Emily 2.5 yrs and Ali 10 months old!

Billy

Billy is 28 yrs old! He has his masters in accounting and works at a local accounting firm. Billy and Mark have a house about 15 miles away! It's so nice to have him nearby!

Mark

Mark is 26 yrs old. He is currently working on his masters in business through the Carlson School of Business. We are so happy he is finally living in the same city that we are in!

Johnny

Johnny is 22 yrs old. He is attending the University of St Thomas in St Paul, MN. He is playing for the Tommies soccer team!

Sarah Grace

Sarah is 16 yrs old. She came home in December 2008!

Emma Joy

Emma is 15 yrs old and came home in mid July 2010 along with her biological sister Ellie!

Ella Mei

Ellie is 13 yrs old and came home with her bio sister Emma in mid July 2010!

Mia Christine

Mia is 14 yrs old! She came home on February 2nd, 2013!

Ava Marie

Ava is 10 yrs old! She has been home since April 1st, 2011!

Melissa Faith

Melissa is 10 yrs old! She came home from China in early February 2013!

Abigail Elizabeth

Abby is 10 yrs old! She came home in December 2011!

Anna Violet

Anna is 10 yrs old. She has been home since August of 2007!

Benjamin David

Ben is 10 yrs old. He came home from China in early December 2013!

Samuel Jacob

Sam is 9 yrs old. He has been home since April 1st, 2011!

Madeline Mary

Madeline is 9 yrs old. She came home from China in early February 2013!

Joseph Michael

Joey is 7 yrs old! He came home with his new brother Ben this past December 2013!

Luke Lewis

Luke is 7 yrs old! He is our youngest! He came home in December 2011!

Quick Update On Us!

Hubby and I have 5 bio kids that are currently 21-31 yrs old. As our bio children were leaving the nest we felt called to serve our Lord through the blessings of adoption!

We have adopted 13 waiting children from China! Anna came home first on August 8th, 2007 (at 16 months). She is currently 9 yrs old! Sarah came home on December 5th, 2008 (at 8.5 yrs old). She is 15 yrs old now. Emma and Ellie came home on July 19th, 2010! They are bio sibs, and were 8 and 10 yrs old when they came home! They are now 14 and 12 yrs old. Next we brought home Sam at 4.5 yrs old and Ava Marie at 5.5 yrs old at the time of their adoption. They came home on April 1st, 2011 and are now 8.5 yrs and 10 yrsold.! Both of the kids are from Henan Province.

On our 5th adoption trip we journeyed to Abby and Luke. They came home at 5.5 and 3 yrs old. They have adjusted well! They are currently 9 and 6 years old!

We will traveled back to China for adoption trip #6 in January 2013. This time God blessed us with 3 lovely daughters from China! Mia is 12 years old, Melissa is 9 years old and Madeline is 8 years old now. We feel so very blessed to have these darling girls in our family!

Our 7th and last adoption trip to China was to bring home our two boys- Ben 7 yrs and Joseph 5 yrs. The boys are now 9 and 6.5 yrs old

We have had many many procedures and surgeries over the years, God has been so very kind and they have been amazingly successful!! We still have more surgeries in our future and we will rely on HIM and pray our way through.

Hubby and I are passionate about special needs adoption. We feel called to adopt and we are loving every minute of it! We are both in our mid to late 50's. We can't think of anything we would love to do more than what we are doing right now! We are thankful for this opportunity to enjoy these wonderful children!

We have chosen to home school our children from China. When adopting older children they really don't fit into one grade, they are combination of many grades (including 2nd in math but Pre-k in reading/phonics). We also feel like we missed out on so many years with our wonderful children, we don't want to miss out on any more! Plus it is great for attachment and bonding!!

If you are considering adoption feel free to email or message me with any questions you may have!